Antler Physiology

The UGA Deer Lab was first to characterize the chemical composition of whitetail antlers.

In collaborations with Dr. Ludek Bartos at the Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic and Dr. George Bubenik at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, we examined hormones related to antler growth and examined the effect of dominance hierarchy on antler growth.

We conducted the first large-scale experiment to test the value of antler-based harvest restrictions on whitetail buck age structure.

We assisted Mississippi State University and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to examine effects of antler-based selective harvest regimes on future harvests.

We played a supportive role in human medical research which focused on possible antimicrobial properties of deer antlers and application of antler cellular biology for artificially generating human bone in a medical laboratory.